Hayden Pass 4WD road crosses the
Sangre De Cristo Mountains between Villa Grove and Coaldale. The 4WD
road is most challenging going from Villa Grove on the southwest side
to Coaldale on the northeast side of the pass.

There are no
dispersed campsites on the southwest side of the pass. The north east
side has some dispersed sites along the road, most are smaller sites.
Hayden Creek Campground is located at the start of Hayden Pass on the
northeast side.

Base Camp:

This would not be a good area to
base camp. Other 4WD roads are quite a ways away from the dispersed
sites.

Fall Colors:

Good - More opportunity on the east side.

Navigation:

From Coaldale, CO turn off of US Hwy
50 onto Cnty Road 6, Hayden Creek Road. Go 4.9 miles to the Hayden
Creek Campground and continue on Cnty Road 6 to Hayden Pass.

From Villa Grove, CO turn off of US Hwy 285 west onto Cnty Road Ll57.
Go 3.0 miles. Continue on Cnty Road Ll57 to the forest boundary and
FR970 to Hayden Pass.

History:

Hayden Pass was used by the Utes to cross from the Arkansas River to the San Luis Valley. Some believe the pass gets its name from Ferdinand Hayden who crossed the pass in 1875. Others maintain that the pass is named for an early Wet Mountain Valley settler, Lewis Hayden. In 1874 the Canon City and San Luis Valley Wagon Road Company planned a route over the pass. In 1877 Hayden pass is shown as a trail in F. V. Hayden's Atlas. By 1879 Hayden Pass was being used as a well known crossing of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range.

In the early 1880's the town of Oriental existed at the west entrance to Hayden Pass. The town has a small store and a school with two teachers. The mines in the area, the Vanderbilt, Andover, and Mountain Lion, were small workings as the ore deposits of lead and silver were small veins. The Andover was operated by a man named Bushnell. Nothing remains of the town but its location was most likely in the area of the private residence just before entering the mountains and starting the climb up along Hayden Pass Creek.

Hayden Pass divides Hayden Pass Creek on the west and Middle Prong of Hayden Creek on the east. Running Hayden Pass 4WD road from
the San Luis Valley to the Arkansas River is more difficult. Starting
from Villa Grove, CO you head toward the Sangre De Cristo Mountains
right out of the center of town. Follow Cnty Road Ll57 across the
valley floor. You will pass pastures and fencelines as you climb toward
the mountains. The road gets rougher as you head northeast.

West side approach. Hayden Pass 4WD road goes up the
deep canyon.

You will come to a large pulloff at an intersection with another county road. You can air down here. From the pulloff the road gets steeper and less maintained. There are areas of past washouts and larger rocks to drive on. Where the road curves south is an intersection with a minor road, FR996, to the left that continues up hill and ends at a flat area. The main road will curve south toward Hayden Pass Creek and enter the forest becoming FR970. After a switchback it will begin a steady steep ascent along Hayden Pass Creek. The road is situated on the side of the steep cut in the mountains formed by Hayden Pass Creek. The incline is continuous and the rocks get larger with a few spots that require a bit of thought to navigate. The gulch will begin to narrow and the trees will get thicker just before you cross over to the other side of Hayden Creek.

Rough and steep section.

From here the road does a series of switchbacks as it makes the final
ascent to the pass. Hayden Pass is wide with room to park. There is a
trail head to the north toward Galena Mountain. Hayden Pass crosses
between Galena Mountain and Black Mountain bisecting the Sangre De
Cristo Wilderness.

Top of Hayden Pass

The road down the northeast side of the pass is FR6 and follows a ridge
giving some nice views toward the Arkansas River valley. There area
areas of large stands of trees that have been blown down. The road
makes quite a few switchbacks as it descends from the ridge between
Middle Prong of Hayden Creek and South Prong of Hayden Creek. The last
part of the 4WD road drops off of the ridge near the Hayden Creek
Campground and connects with Cnty Road 6.